Controlling access to computing devices and/or resources thereof is needed for reasons including, without limitation, privacy, child safety, and corporate security. Previously known access controls for computing devices conventionally are implemented through the use of login credentials (e.g., user name and/or password challenges) and/or biometric authentication (e.g., fingerprint readers), among other things.
Computing devices increasingly are used in settings such as family and enterprise environments in which multiple users may need or want to use the same computing device. In such use cases, reliable control over access to the device and/or resources thereof is critical. While password-based controls have been used in such circumstances, they are not always suitable or sufficient because, for example without limitation, passwords can be guessed, stolen, forgotten, or otherwise compromised. Biometric authentication measures, such as fingerprint readers, lack some of the shortcomings of password-based controls, but biometric authentication can be problematic because it relies on the physical presence of an individual person. Thus, biometric authentication is not possible in situations where authentication is needed in the absence of the physical presence of the individual granting authorization.
There is a need for an access control system which can be used whenever authentication is required, e.g., whenever a password would be required, but does not suffer from the disadvantages of password-based and biometric authentication measures.